Winter Drive Part 2: Trenthouse Inn and Laurel Hill State Park, Somerset County, PA

In part one of our journey, we visited Seven Springs. The next step on our little journey involves lunch at one of our favorite little places, the Trenthouse Inn in the little village of Rockwood, PA. This little restaurant is charming, the folks that run it are very friendly, and the food is both delicious and affordable. I ordered the eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce, and Brit got a breakfast sandwich. 

This charming place dates all the way back to 1884 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. As with many of these old buildings, this place has served nearly every community function over the years, including operations as a post office, gas station, general store, and even as an ice house operation. The character of this building really shows, especially since the building has been restored over the years. In addition to a restaurant, the building also has a bed and breakfast.

Laurel Hill State Park resides half a mile down the road from this restaurant. In the below pictures you can see the park's centerpiece, the Laurel  Hill Lake, one of the many lakes and facilities that were built by the CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal organization that put young men to work, building up the infrastructure of our state. Here you can see a write up that we did last year about the CCC work at another nearby state park, Linn Run State Park. 

Here you can see one of the few that were out enjoying ice fishing on the lake. 

The ice covered lake is a far cry from the way it looked the last time we visited, at the start of trout season in April.

I saw my shadow on January 17th. I wonder if the Groundhog will see his in a few weeks.

Be sure to visit this, and the many other state parks in this region in addition to enjoying a meal or a night's stay at the Trenthouse Inn. In warmer months, Laurel Hill State Park also offers a great campground.